True Friends
by Absol Master
Summary: A songfic based on Just Friends. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.[LynRath]


Okay. This is my third Fire Emblem fan fiction. It's a songfic based on a really beautiful song called _Just Friends. _Hope you enjoy it.

**Words in bold are the song lyrics.**

_Words in italics are thoughts._

* * *

**True Friends**

**Sometimes I wonder if I made a wrong step somewhere**

**And times don't seem as good as they have been before**

A four-year-old boy stands in the middle of a vast field, staring on at the tents of the Kutolah tribe. In the distance, once familiar people set about their daily routines, not seeing him.

As he looks on, his father's words return to his mind.

"The gods have sent us a sign," the voice echoes back. "They say you were born into this land, to stop the burning of a dark flame which consumes all. You must leave the tribe and fulfil your destiny. And don't return till you do!"

As he gazes at the colourful tents, now far off, his vision is blurred by tears.

_Father…I'll see you again, right?_

Suddenly unable to look on anymore, he turns and runs off into the plains.

**It's not so hard then to want to lay down and cry**

He grows up alone, without his family or friends. For fourteen years, he travels the plains of Sacae, searching for the destiny he has to fulfil, to no avail. He has found a job, but that does not bring him any friends.

Everyday, he recalls that last day with his tribe, with the friends and family he has so long forgotten, people who are no more than blurred images at the back of his mind.

Had they really meant so much to him before? He had forgotten how it was like to love.

_I am lonely, Father, so lonely… When will this end?_

…**But then I hear a chorus of voices calling from the other shore,**

"**Look up, look up!"**

It is a bright afternoon. The boy, now eighteen, is patrolling the city, as his job requires.

A sudden shout of fear rings through the warm afternoon air. Not wasting a moment, he rides on his horse through the branching roads of the city, towards the source of the shout.

As he turns the corner, he catches sight of a girl in Sacaean clothes, cornered by a bandit. Her face is a mask of terror, as the bandit swings his axe.

_She's quite beautiful._

Quickly, he whips out his short bow and sends an arrow through the bandit's back, deep into his flesh. The bandit collapses with a cry of pain.

Once he sees that no more attackers are coming, he gets off his horse and runs up to the girl. "He didn't hurt you," he says with relief. "Be careful next time."

The girl smiles gratefully and introduces herself. "I'm Lyn," she explains.

"And I am Rath," he replies.

Rath cannot help but think, _is this my chance to have friends again?_

What he does not know is that this simple meeting marks the end of his old life, and the start of a new one.

**These are my friends, my friends, just some people walking the same**

**Road with hands, joined as one together**

**Cross the bridge, see the rainbow, feel the breeze, watch the flowers grow,**

**Touch the sky, don't you know? We can go higher, higher, higher!**

He leaves his job and joins Lyn's band of mercenaries. Lyndis' Legion, they call it. He has friends again, people he can count on. Some of them are pesky, some quiet, some enjoy battle. But they are all his friends, no matter what they are like.

_It's been so long since I knew people like that, _he thinks with a smile. _Friends, true friends._

**And through the years, generations come and go **

**Yet still the flame burns strong inside despite the rain**

A while has passed, and the small band of mercenaries has come to their final battle. The rain is falling heavily on the grassy land. Still, the eleven move on through the downpour.

"We can't let a little rain stop us," Lyn shouts determinedly. She was shivering violently, and yet, determination and defiance burned in her green eyes.

Such spirit… 

"Well, Lyn, if you are staying on in the fight, we're with you," Kent replies faithfully.

"Surely I would not leave you!" Wil exclaims. "If you're fighting, so am I!"

"This is for your grandfather," Dorcas shouts.

Slowly, everyone agrees to stay, and he decides to stay on as well. He knows he would never be able to bear leaving. For if he leaves, he will be alone again.

So together, they move on.

**It's not so wrong, then, when I stumble and fall**

The rain has finally stopped. The eleven mercenaries have arrived at the castle, Lundgren has spotted them.

"I shall _kill _you for what you have done, to my grandfather, and to the city!" Lyn yells.

"I would like to see you try," Lundgren challenges them. "The sooner I finish you, the better!"

There is a silence, and no one speaks, as they contemplate their enemy.

The tactician finally gives a command. "Rath, attack him!"

He immediately rides forward and takes out his short bow, now worn with its many uses. Stringing an arrow, he pulls the bowstring back as hard as he can before firing it.

The arrow grazes Lundgren's unprotected neck, and blood begins to trickle from the wound. But Lundgren is unfazed by the pain. He turns, and hurls a deadly accurate javelin at the nomad.

"Aargh!" he yells as the javelin catches him in the chest, sending a tearing pain through his body. He can see blood spraying from his mouth as he shouts.

"Rath!" Lyn shouts, suddenly fearful. She runs to his side, as he collapses onto his horse's back. "Rath, don't…not yet…"

He can see the depth of concern in her eyes, the beautiful eyes he would never see again. And at once, he knows now, despite having not loved anyone for fifteen years, that he loves her.

_I'm dead, _he thinks. _I'll never tell her. This is the end…there's no more hope for me. _

**For now I know what love is about, the friends who help you walk again**

"**Get up, get up!"**

But suddenly, he can hear Nils starting to play a beautiful song. The music is amazing, uplifting and glorious beyond any possible description. And it fills everyone with new energy, with unfound strength to move on.

Serra immediately runs ahead towards him, fresh and energetic. "Must do my job, right?" she says to him.

And with a wave of her staff, all his pain vanishes, as the wound mends itself. And suddenly, he can sit up again.

_This is thanks to my friends, my good friends…_

Erk and Lucius attack Lundgren with all the concentration they can muster. The magic they use is powerful beyond anything he has seen them do before.

And they're all working together to help me! 

And Lyn, suddenly angry, runs forward, and thrusts her sword through Lundgren's neck. He cries out in agony.

"No…" he shouts as he falls. "I must complete my job…"

But he is dead.

It all ended so soon.

**These are my friends, my friends, just some people walking the same**

**Road with hands, joined as one together**

**Cross the bridge, see the rainbow, feel the breeze, watch the flowers grow,**

**Touch the sky, don't you know? We can go higher, higher, higher!**

Lyn is about to go into the castle to talk to her grandfather. Everyone waits around her, not knowing what to do. She is suddenly overcome with emotion, and tears begin to stream from her eyes.

"Thank you, everyone," she gasps through sobs. "You all are the greatest friends anyone could hope to meet. Thank you…"

"Lady Lyndis, I must go," Erk says. "I have to continue my studies."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily!" Serra exclaims. They leave together.

"So must I," Dorcas says. "My wife is waiting." He departs over the plains.

One by one, the people leave, till those who are staying are there.

"Rath, are you staying?" Lyn asks hopefully. "By all means, do stay!"

Rath looks down. "Lyn…" he says with regret. "You have been very kind. I'll miss you. But I have to find my true destiny now. Farewell."

And turning, he rides on into the grasslands, away from his friends.

Little does he know that at the gates of the castle, Lyn is watching as he goes, her heart torn by grief.

"Rath…I hope I'll meet you again, some day …"

And Rath is thinking the same thing, as he rides towards Sacae on the back of his horse.

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So how'd you like it? Reviews and advice please! I'm the kind of person who bothers to edit the story if your advice is good. 


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